Chris Leben Tests Positive for Steroids
(Epic fail, this time of the drug test variety.)
Remember the story heading into UFC 89 about how Chris Leben had matured and kicked the booze and turned his life around? Forget that, because his life has just turned back around with the word today that Leben tested positive for steroids after his bout with Michael Bisping in England last month.
Leben popped positive for Stanozolol and has been suspended for nine months by the UFC and fined one-third of his fight purse. To make things worse, there's not even any athletic commission-mandated testing in England, so it was the UFC's own internal testing system that caught him. At least Leben isn't playing innocent. He apparently admitted using the drug, but told Dana White he thought it would be out of his system in time for the test. So, you know, that makes it okay, right?
Leben's official mea culpa:
“I’ve really done everything I can to turn my life around,” said Leben.
“And this is a huge setback for me. But it’s something I will have to deal with. During my time off from fighting, I want to speak to kids about the dangers of using performance enhancing agents and let them know it just doesn’t get you ahead in life. Of course, this is a hard hit for me monetarily, but more so this is embarrassing for me and for all my fans.”
Jesus, he's already doing the 'I want to talk to kids' thing? The fight was just a few weeks ago. What idiot publicist fed him that painfully transparent line? Just for perspective on this, let's recap Leben's recent career decisions:
- His struggles with booze lead to a DUI arrest in Oregon.
- He moves to Hawaii to become the coach at Icon Sport, violating his parole in the process.
- He accepts a fight with Michael Bisping, but can't travel to England due to the parole violation charge.
- He spends a couple weeks in jail, chokes out a fellow inmate.
- He gets another shot at Bisping and gets nabbed for steroid use after losing a decision.
Yeah, that about sums it all up. Now I just have to ask, why does Leben still have a job with the UFC? This is the company that has fired guys for making dumb comments to the press. As much as I want to see Leben make something of himself, probably because he appeals to the ne'er-do-well in all of us, this is a man who seems to be constantly finding new ways to sabotage himself.
I also have to question why, of all people, Leben would use steroids. He's never been a fighter who relies on his explosive athletic ability. He's a tough guy who can take a lot of punches. It's not like steroids make your head harder, and he already had knockout power. Did he think that looking ripped at the weigh-in was the missing piece of the puzzle? Or perhaps he just thought this was one way of screwing up his life that he hadn't tried yet and, what the hell, he wanted to give it a shot.
Props to the UFC for running their own testing program, even when they don't have to. Anti-props to Leben for proving why it's necessary.
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Comments
Geriatric Peon Says:
Now I'm extra happy that he lost to Bisping.
warpedacorn Says:
Ouch...Negaprops. =(
jim smith Says:
did he really choke out an inmate? the steroids made sense, he looked jacked rcently
K.E.G. Says:
I've always been a Leben supporter since the show, but only because he had allot of heart and could take punches and knock people out. Theres no question he was never going to be a champion, maybe he came to the realization himself and thought the juice would help. The UFC should fire his ass because he's not a contender and never will be.
greenseed Says:
what a fool this guy is making himself to be
definately uberanti-props to leben-shleben
Farthammer Says:
Two things:
One, I wonder how Dana will deal with this. Does he go with the Rampage line of "He needs help and I stand behind him," or does he go with option B of kicking his ass out?
Two, get with Lesnar and find out how to beat drug tests, dummy.
DDT Says:
Bummer. Props to the UFC for doing its own testing. God Leben can be stupid. They will not fire him because he is a draw. His fights are entertaining and they usually finish with him putting some dude on the mat. With all of the crappy decisions the UFC has been getting lately there is no way they will get rid of a guy who TRIES TO FINISH FIGHTS.
As long as he can win more than he loses Leben will have a place in the UFC.
shitwhistle Says:
Maybe they shouldn't test at all....
A bunch of roided out, Lesnar look-a-likes, poppin' back zits and knocking people's heads off... what could go wrong?
tiger Says:
wait, don't you retain a lot of the muscle mass you gain. Which would explain Lesnar, since he was juicing hard while in the WWE.
Please, just don't mess up again Leban? Hmm maybe I should go buy a lottery ticket, I could have a better chance.
Imbecile Says:
Now, in an ultimate effort to be fair to Leben, I want to say this. I don't know much about this particular steroid, but often times they can stay in your system for 6 months to a year. Leben very seriously might be trying to turn his life around, but by his own admission, he has only been sober for about 4 months. Perhaps his epiphany towards a clean life happened about that long ago, but decisions he made prior are catching up with him. Maybe he truly is a changed man, but is just getting his comeuppance from his actions prior to his transformation.
This may be a stretch, but it would be nice to believe Chris Leben that he has changed, and it would be nice to believe that the change is significant in all aspects of his life. Believing this scenario is obviously giving him a huge benefit of the doubt, but just because he popped positive for steroids doesn't necessarily mean he took them last week, or that he isn't making a sincere effort to change.
I'm sorry if that is lame. I'm trying to be positive.
JTho Says:
At least I have an explanation as to how he got so ripped.
Jimbo Says:
Why can't he just be normal for a bit? Damn....
MC Hotdog feet Says:
yo yo, check out my new track just released since my hot dog feet got smashed with 30lb rubber mallets.
thats me in the back kickin it old school.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdLG-aHIeek
ryan Says:
i dont care, i still love leben. he will throwdown anyplace anytime. he will exchange with anyone. keep your head up.
Lorrie Says:
I was shocked when I heard, don't know what happened or why he thought he needed to do that. He has soooo many fans and people who were pulling for him and still are. Sometimes in life we do stupid things, lord knows I have done some dumb things in my time. Sh** happens I look forward to seeing Chris fight again and I know for sure this is not the end for him but just another hurtle.
Acrocerid Says:
Once a Leben...always a Leben. Did steroids and didn't even win... that's extra lame.
Hulk Smash Says:
While I am no big fan of Bisping and I was certainly hoping Leben would knock him out, the fact is the steroids don't change one important fact: Leben is not that good a fighter. Rocky always won because the screenplay was written that way. reality is a little different. Based on the fact even steroids could not help him, and he has pretty much made every one a fool, time for him to go the way of the dodo bird and leave the UFC. Once is a mistake but Leben has a habit of train wrecking.
Time to cut the strings UFC. You can only carry him so far
bruiser Says:
I'm in the camp where this guy tries to win fights by submitting or knocking mfers out and I like that. He may not win all the time, but that's what I like in a fighter. I wish the sob the best...
A Says:
in a rematch leben will kill bisping and a. silva! u guys r stupid and dnt kno wat yr tlkin bout
Jeremy Says:
I'm surprised about how I feel about this. I was a MEGA Sherk hater when he got caught using roids. Maybe because he was dominant. Since Leban lost I'm sorta like "eh, who cares" Suspend him, and fine him. If he gets caught again boot him.
Then again, as much as I'm against zero tolerance policies if there was one in the UFC I wouldn't be against that. If you take them, you are out. If you take something that you don't know WTF you are taking and it is tainted w/ roids, you're out. Something should be done to deter fighters from using.
TUF Guy Says:
His fights are lame. I wouldn't miss him.
Doc Says:
May as well try suicide now. What else is left?
gvd Says:
Dude you lose a fight and then get tested positive for steroids. Wow. Leben you suck.
Mr Josh Says:
The UFC should get rid of him. he is nothing special....just a "bad boy" who cant win big fights! what use is that!?
emptyhandkiller Says:
I agree with Doc!!! The only thing is, we all know Leben has a skull thicker than a woolly mammoth, so any bullet would probably ricochet off of it. Rats! Maybe a dive off of a 20 story building... that may do it. Or, 84 packages of rat poison washed down with Southern Comfort. Or, run out onto the track during a top fuel drag race. Or, swallow a lit stick of dynamite. Something colorful and memorable, ok, Chris?
Jay Says:
+1 for using "ne'er-do-well" in a sentence.
I think Chris should fight again right away, what with the 'roid-rage and all likely going to kick in soon he might get back in the win column.
gvd Says:
I read a lot of comments by people saying more fighters roid up than we know. And they need it to gain that edge in a competitive sport. And I say it's bullshit. You can't have people running around using mind and body altering drugs that are giving them an edge over their opponents in such a dangerous sport. In my opinion if you use steroids you're a cheater and just taking the easy way out. Now being natural... there's the challenge.
JoseMonkey Says:
Damn it, Leben.
I've been a Chris Leben fan from the beginning, but it's getting harder and harder to defend his behavior.
johnnynormal Says:
Wikipedia says the steroid has a half-life of 1 day, so after a week less than 1% of the amount he took is still in his system, after 10 days it's less than 1/10th of 1% ... I don't know what their screening detection limits are, but he had to have taken it in a reasonably short time before the fight it'd seem...
UFC fan Says:
That was his last chance with me as a fan.....if he fights again, no matter where or against who......I am for the OTHER guy, fuck Leben.
ghost with the most Says:
me and ufc fan finally agree on something has yr mum had a shave yet tho